


The Summer We Became Superheroes

by TeaFiend



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, Disney References, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Gratuitous use of gaming platforms, Growing Up Together, Light Angst, Next Door Neighbours, Pokemon games - Freeform, SO MUCH FLUFF, rated M for future chapters, the boy next door
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-29 14:36:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17809811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeaFiend/pseuds/TeaFiend
Summary: Rey meets Ben Solo when she is seven, he ten. From that moment on, not even the universe will be able to tear them both apart. But boy, will it try.





	The Summer We Became Superheroes

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a little side project for a while now. The whole idea of Ben and Rey growing up together just makes me smile. We start with them young, but they'll age and be adults by the end of the story. 
> 
> So yeah! I hope you join me on this little journey through the life of next door neighbours Reylo. And excuse my completely indulgent 90s baby references. 
> 
> Sadly I don't own Pokémon, Star Wars or Disney. But I love to play in their sandboxes.

2004 –

 

For the first time in her seven years of life, Rey had a room to call her own. It wasn’t much, just a box room tucked snugly away at the back of the house, complete with solid wooden bed and matching wardrobe. But it was hers and no one else. It almost didn’t feel real.

Rey stood in the doorway for the longest time, simply staring at the cheerful pastel pink room with Porgy tight in her grip. Everything felt better with the rather worn and tattered Porg plush at her side. _It’s a reminder,_ Miss. Holdo, her ever-constant social worker told her with a warm smile the day she placed it into the little girl’s arms. The day Rey was told she’d be moving from one orphanage to another, a better one where the boys wouldn’t pinch at her and girls tug at her pigtails.

Rey had frowned. _Of what?_

_That you are never alone, little one. When you feel sad or scared, hug him and the pain will melt away._

Footsteps sounded on the stairs, creaking as they approached; Rey squeezed the Porg ever the tighter. She froze stock still as the landing creaked ominously, but her heart galloped a mile a minute. Was it Plutt? Was he back? Was he here to drag her back into that shadowy hole they called an orphanage?

Maz’s head came around the corner, complete with oversized glasses, and Rey breathed a sigh of relief as she loosened her grip on the plush.

Her new foster mother was far different from the others Rey had been with. For one thing, Maz Kanata smiled far more than her other foster parents ever did. Though she was small, only just taller than Rey herself, the woman sported a heart of gold. Most people overlooked Rey when they discussed fostering a child; she was quiet and subdued, very easily startled and timid. She required far more work than a younger child, or indeed most her own age. For that, she was skated over like the ugly puppy at the pound.

Until Maz had read her story, at least. Maz was a very nice if strange lady, Rey had decided upon first meeting her. She looked half bug with her glasses, which was funny.

A small and comforting arm slid around Rey’s shoulders. Rather than flinch away sharply, she remained immobile. “How’d you like your room, my little Rey of sunshine?” Maz asked cheerfully, a comforting smile upon her face.

Rey liked it. Like… _really_ liked it. There was even a glittery pink butterfly stencilled upon the walls above the bed. And on the bed and curtains were unicorns, a perfectly matched set. Under the unicorn-bedecked window was a white bookcase, a handful of books sat there, pristine and white and ready for her to delve into. It was all so… _cool._

“It’s nice” she replied rather timidly, picking at a toe on Porgy’s foot.

The arm around her shoulder squeezed gently. “I’m glad, sweetheart. This is your home for however long you’d like it to be. You can stay forever if you’d like, I don’t mind.”

Stay forever? Rey couldn’t do that. Not when her parents – her real parents – were still searching for her. One day she’d have to leave the unicorn bedspread behind. Or maybe nice Maz would even allow her to take it with her if she asked very nicely? In any case, she didn’t reply to Maz’s words other than a small nod, and when the dainty woman went to make them some dinner, Rey lowered herself down to her knees and neatly slid her unpacked case beneath the bed. After all, it was a waste of time to unpack when she would be leaving so very soon with her parents. All she needed for now was Porgy.

\--

After dinner, Maz discovered her case and unpacked it while Rey picked distractedly at her food. Rey screamed at her to put it all back. She didn’t.

\--

Rey spent her first night in the Kanata household beneath the bed rather than on it, her eyes still stinging with old tears. Tight spaces made her feel safe, like a cat.

When she woke up, there was a unicorn pillow beneath her head.

\--

She first noticed the boy during the second week of living with Maz. Once more she sat vigil by her bedroom window, arms tucked around her knees as she gazed out unblinkingly. Rey would know her parents car the second she saw it, she was certain. How could she not? She’d see that car and _there-!_ It would be magical. And finally she would be happy and have a reason to smile.

The boy sat in the shade of an old oak tree that separated Maz’s house from the one next door. His dark head was bowed low and his legs crossed tightly beneath him. After a few curious glances, Rey strained with her nose pressed to the window to catch a glimpse of what he was looking at so intently. It was something purple. It was a-

A Gameboy!

Rey’s eyes widened and her heart crashed against her chest. A real Gameboy was sat snug between his fingers as he clicked away, occasionally scowling at the screen.

She’d placed a Gameboy right at the top of her Christmas list last year, but it had never arrived. Clearly Santa couldn’t find her in the orphanage because of how often she changed addresses, but that was okay; she had a _real_ address now. He’d find her come December and bring her a shiny purple Gameboy all of her very own.

As if sensing her presence, the boy stiffened and his head snapped up towards her window.

He wasn’t _too_ much older than her, Rey figured. His short, inky black hair stuck out at everywhere like he didn’t know what a brush was, exposing large ears that made Rey giggle at the sight of. When they locked eyes, Rey didn’t shy away. Rather, she offered a tentative smile, not knowing why.

The boy did not return it. He just continued to stare at her, a slight furrow between his brows.

Was there something on her face? Rey rubbed at her chin, suddenly worried.

“What’s caught your eye?” came Maz’s curious voice.

Rey yelped, startled by the sudden noise; she grabbed Porgy from next to her and all but crushed him into her chest.

“I’m so sorry, dear,” Maz apologized gently. Rey was very easily startled even by the wind. It was foolish of her not to make her presence known in a more gradual way. She was like a wild animal at times, jumpy and always ready to run away. It made her wonder just what had occurred during her time at Plutt’s orphanage. Nothing good at any rate.

Rey glanced back out of the window and down at the tree, but the boy had vanished, the Gameboy along with him. A strange pang of disappointment settled low in her stomach. She slowly turned to face Maz, not meeting her eyes. “I’m… can we eat?”

Maz beamed, as she always did. Rey liked her smiles, they were so wide and bright. “Of course! What would you like? Dinosaur nuggets or turkey twizzlers?”

“Um…” They were both so delicious. How could she _choose?_

“Actually,” Maz interrupted, “Let’s make both! What do you say? We’ll have a real feast.” She held out her hand towards the little girl. After one more glance at the window and vacated spot beneath the tree, Rey hesitantly took it.

\--

When they were done eating, bellies full to burst and content, Rey asked about the boy next door.

“Oh? Black hair?” The dishes clattered as Maz piled them up, carrying them over to the sink and depositing them within. For the first time since Rey had arrived in almost three weeks, the plate was completely empty. That… that was a triumph indeed compared to the little girl who had barely eaten anything in the first week.

Rey nodded, swinging her legs beneath the table.

“That’s Ben, next doors son. He’s a nice, quiet lad. Not much older than you. Ten, maybe eleven now?”

“Is he… is next door nice?”

“Very nice! Ben lives with his uncle Luke at the moment.” The freezer door slammed shut behind Maz as she carried out the tub of ice cream and set it down upon the table, fetching a pair of bowls and spoons.

He lived with his uncle? Rey frowned. “Did Ben’s mommy and daddy lose him like mine?”

Maz shook her head, spooning out raspberry swirl ice cream into Rey’s bowl. “No, sweetheart. Ben’s parents are very busy. His mommy travels to lots of different countries and helps them all get along.”

“What about his daddy?”

“Ben’s daddy…” Maz paused, taking a bite of ice cream and thinking over her answer for a moment. “Ben’s daddy is very busy too. He flies airplanes.”

Planes? “Like Jumbo Jets that take you on holiday?”

“He flies superfast jets. No holiday ones.”

“Wow.” Ben’s daddy was _cool._ Maybe her own daddy flew planes? Maybe that was why he and mommy hadn’t found her yet. They were just _very_ busy with being super awesome and saving the world and everyone.

Very soon, they’d come and save her too. But they had to save other people first, and that was okay.

\--

Ben’s bedroom window sat directly opposite Rey’s own, framed by dark red curtains. She knew it was Ben’s room by the huge Pokémon posters on the wall and model spaceships and jets hanging from the ceiling. The bedroom was, quite frankly, _awesome!_ He even had a dark blue inflatable chair in the corner next to his bed.

And then there was the _guitar._ Did Ben play it? Was he any good? Did he like music? Rey loved music. Though it frequently got her into trouble, she loved the songs with swearing in the best; they always made her giggle at their naughtiness. 

She _really_ liked the guitar. It was so pretty.

At night, Ben tended to leave his curtains open wide until late into the night. Rey took the opportunity to begin spying on the boy through her own curtains, one eye peering through a narrow slit. A month later and she still spied on him every night.

Ben listened to a lot of music. After dinner he closed the door to his bedroom and threw himself down onto his bed, shoving a large pair of headphones over his ears. A moment later and his foot would be tapping away to some beat Rey could not hear, but wished she could.

They played Britney music at her last foster home. The woman’s oldest daughter was sixteen and utterly obsessed, plastering posters over every single wall and blasting the songs as loud as possible when left alone to babysit the newest addition to the family. If Rey complained, she tended to find herself locked in the cramped bathroom until it was almost time for her foster parents to return. After telling Miss. Holdo the social worker, Rey had been removed from the home almost immediately and returned to the orphanage to await a new placing.

_“Just leave me alone!”_

Rey blinked, watching in silence as Ben sat up abruptly, a hand all but tearing the headphones away from him. The boy swelled up in rage and began to swear loudly, throwing himself from the bed and to his feet. Rey clamped her hands over her ears as she shouting continued, watching as Ben attempted to snatch the headphones away from a man with grey hair that she recognized as his uncle, Luke. He began shouting too. About what, Rey couldn’t hear from the hands over her ears; it reminded her so very terribly of Unkar Plutt, of the way he’d yell at her if she made a mess, even by accident. He’d grab her wrist tight, but not so tight as to leave bruises that could be seen by Miss. Holdo.

It all became too much and she lowered her hands, throwing her curtains wide. “Oi! Leave him _alone_!” Rey shouted, cheeks burning red with anger. “Stop _shouting_ at him!”

The shouting ceased and two pairs of eyes fixed on her; one confused, the other still full of rage. Rey wasn’t afraid of Ben’s Uncle Luke; he was half the size of Plutt, in both weight and width. And he was old where Plutt hadn’t been, which immediately made her feel braver. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spied Ben subtly shoving his headphones beneath his bed, uncle distracted by the little girl next door.

No one said anything. The only thing that happened was when Luke grasped the red curtains and roughly pulled them shut with a loud rasp. Rey listened, but the shouting did not start again. And for that, she was very grateful and more than a little proud of herself.

The next morning when Rey pulled the curtains wide earlier than usual, she noticed a sheaf of paper stuck to Ben’s window with yellow tape; she squinted and carefully began to read the short message written upon it in large black pen.

_Hello, I’m Ben._

Her eyes wide, Rey grabbed some paper of her own and a thick black crayon from the drawing box, scrawling out a reply. She hid it behind the drawn curtain so that Maz wouldn't see it. 

_ Hi I'm Rey.   _

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments would like... Really make my day more awesome.


End file.
